LeBron James and the Value of a Logo
/By: Garett Rostkowski
By now, everyone’s heard about the free agent transfer that rocked the basketball world, but in case you’ve been traveling in remote areas without access to WiFi or newspapers or other human beings, allow me to break the news — LeBron James has decided to take his talents to the City of Angels to play for the Los Angeles Lakers (!).
As a basketball fan living in Los Angeles, I’m floored. But more relevant to my practice, and to this blog, is the news that Bron Bron’s four-year $153.3 million deal has also rocked the world of… wait for it… intellectual property.
Let’s back this up. In 2017, Wish — the tech startup behind an international online shopping app — announced a three-year, $36 million sponsorship deal with the Lakers to place their logo on the collar of L.A.’s uniforms. During the 2017-18 season, this deal netted Wish an estimated return of $5 million in free social media impressions — fourth among NBA jersey sponsors. Not bad, considering the Lakers finished next-to-last in the Western Conference with an abysmal 26-56 record. By contrast, the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron’s previous team, earned Goodyear (Cleveland’s jersey sponsor) an estimated $21 million in impressions — first in the NBA.
All of this is to say that Wish’s ROI on their Lakers sponsorship deal is about to skyrocket. According to a 2016 Forbes article, LeBron James is the NBA’s leading social media ambassador, creating an excess of $5 million PER MONTH for the brands he promotes. Considering every photo of LeBron James wearing a Lakers uniform is a passive promotion of Wish — in jersey sponsorships, as in basketball… it’s a good time to be associated with the Lakers.